Tough Times Ahead for Italia

Cari amici, now it is up to you to bring some sense back to Italians and make Berlusconi listen to you! Turn off your TVs, go to the Internet for news, not Berlusconi's hysterical media which uses fear tactics worthy of FAUX News. Now they're going to convince you to send more troops to AFGHANISTAN? Will you buy it? I also have a very nice bridge, right nearby, very well known, and you might like to purchase it?
Bush to press Berlusconi on Iran and Afghanistan
Wed Jun 11, 2008 9:35pm EDT
By Matt Spetalnick and Stephen Brown
ROME (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush will urge Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as an old ally on Thursday to take a tougher stand over Iran's nuclear program and expand Italy's military role in Afghanistan
[...] But beyond the smiles and handshakes, Bush will be looking for concrete signs that Berlusconi, whose previous government supported the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, is bringing Italy's foreign policy back closer in line with Washington's.
[...] Berlusconi's admiration for Bush runs counter to public sentiment in Europe where he is widely reviled for the Iraq war.
While Berlusconi and Pope Benedict prepared to roll out the red carpet for Bush over the next two days, about a thousand leftists and anti-war activists staged a peaceful protest in the centre of Rome after his arrival on Wednesday.
Bush's bid to ratchet up pressure on Iran over its nuclear program is expected to be high on the agenda with Berlusconi, as it has been since the start of his European trip on Monday.
[...] Italy, one of Iran's top foreign investors, could have an impact should the European Union carry out a threat to impose new measures on Tehran beyond existing U.N. sanctions if it keeps defying demands to stop uranium enrichment.
Washington had urged the centre-left government of Berlusconi's predecessor Romano Prodi to take a harder line with Italian companies doing business in Iran but to little avail.
Signalling a stronger stance, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in a television interview the "path of sanctions should be resumed more firmly than ever" if Tehran rejected a revised incentives package it would soon be offered.
Bush wants a firmer commitment from Berlusconi to the war effort in Afghanistan. He has pressed NATO allies, so far with limited results, to increase troop levels and lift bans on deployment of forces to places where fighting is fiercest.
Italy has about 2,700 troops in Afghanistan, mostly off the front lines.
Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa told a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday he had agreed to a "limited" deployment of Italian troops to combat zones.
[...] Bush's critics say he has been so distracted by Iraq that he has neglected the Afghan war. The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was opposed by Germany and France and sowed division in Europe, but bitterness has gradually subsided.[...]
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GCA-iraq/idUSL1157145920080612

Give Me Security at What Cost?

Since Benito Berlusconi (sorry, I know his name is Frederick) came back to power, I haven't given myself time to process the horror or what it will mean for the future of Italy. At least Vicenza held up against the lurch to the right. Perhaps the Italian people were constantly berated (via media, which is controlled by, hmmm?) by the fear card, causing them to vote for "stability" over those hoards of immigrants from Africa and the Balkans. But this is about two old buddies, sharing laughs and good times as they push their boots deeper into our backs.
George Bush Lauded By Berlusconi For Time 100
Mark @ 2:43 pm
Time Magazine has published it’s fifth annual list of the World’s Most Influential People. It’s a mixed collection with a few standouts for hilarity.
Rupert Murdoch made the list as a “Builder and Titan,” an honor he shares with Radiohead. Thom Yorke would make a great media mogul, and they could keep the band’s name as their corporate brand. Disney temptress Miley Cyrus is listed in a category where she challenges Tim Russert, the only “journalist” of the group. They are both listed under “Artists and Entertainers.” Which of these Russert is supposed to be, I don’t know. But Russert is apparently quite influential, as he has reportedly had Arianna Huffington banned from promoting her new book, Right Is Wrong, on any NBC program. [my bold]
Also on the list is George W. Bush under “Leaders and Revolutionaries.” I can’t see where he’d place in either group. But the truly creepy aspect of this is that the essay accompanying his inclusion was written by the Italian Murdoch, Sylvio Berlusconi. Berlusconi, media baron and Prime Minister, related his impressions of Bush as a leader who knows that…

“…justice, freedom and democracy can flourish only if there is security.”

Spoken like a true totalitarian fascist. He is, however, right about Bush, who has shown that he will sacrifice any Constitutional principle, civil liberty, or democratic process, in the pursuit of a false security predicated on fear and lies.
Having Berlusconi pen Bush’s bio for the Time 100 holds a unique significance in light of Berlusconi’s recent electoral successes in Italy. He declared after the election that “We are the new Falange.” The original Falange was the Spanish fascist party of Francisco Franco. [my bold]
Berlusconi’s supporters also hailed the victory of his party’s candidate for mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, a former neo-fascist youth leader, with Hitlerian straight-arm salutes and chants of “Duce, Duce…”, Mussolini’s version of “Fuhrer.” Bush must be proud to have his friend Berlusconi compose this touching tribute.
http://www.newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p=891